


Summer Bucket List

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 20 Different Activities, Alternate Universe, Bucket List, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-04 18:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18610219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Donghyuck moves to a new city. He will have a ten-week long summer vacation, so he comes up with a plan: He makes a Summer Bucket List that contains 20 different activities. Donghyuck's adamant to get all of them done by the end of the summer. And he even meets a person who he coaxes into doing all those things with him.





	Summer Bucket List

Donghyuck puts the last pieces of clothing into his wardrobe and then he’s ready. He moved yesterday but he’s already finished with unpacking his stuff. Well, it doesn’t take too long to unpack things to one room. Donghyuck doesn’t need to take care of the other rooms of the apartment, since they are already filled with Taeyong’s stuff.

Donghyuck moved to a new city to start studying in a polytechnic to become a journalist. Luckily the city where the polytechnic is located is the same one where Donghyuck’s big brother Taeyong lives. They agreed on that Donghyuck can live with him at least the first year of his studies, and that way make it a lot easier for Donghyuck to move to a completely new city, far away from his other family.

Donghyuck has been working part time during the last year of high school and that way he has saved up some money for himself. Now he doesn’t have to get a summer job, but instead he can spend a holiday and just enjoy the summer before he starts studying again. Ten weeks of complete freedom, what a dream. Taeyong and his boyfriend Jaehyun are spending the whole summer by traveling around the country, so Donghyuck also has the whole apartment to himself for now.

Ten weeks of vacation. That’s a long time, but Donghyuck also knows that it is really easy to just waste it away by binging Netflix series and sleeping all the time. So Donghyuck has come up with a plan for the summer.

He has planned and written a Summer Bucket List.

The list contains 20 different activities he wants to do during the summer. So, ten-week vacation and 20 different activities; it means roughly 2 activities per week. Very much manageable to carry out. And there will still be lots of time to binge-watch Netflix if needed.

The activities on Donghyuck’s Summer Bucket List aren’t anything big or pretentious. Yes, he may have saved up money during the past year, but he’s still not made out of money. Big part of his savings goes to paying his share of the rent and bills, and then to buy food and other necessary supplies. So, as much as he would like to add on the list something like ‘trip to London’ it’s very much impossible.

There are some very simple things on his list and then things that require little more effort. Some are completely free, and some will require little money. Donghyuck thinks it’s a good selection of all kinds of fun little things to do. He’s adamant to get them all done and checked to the list.

  
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Donghyuck decides he’s going to treat himself something to eat in a coffee shop instead of making food himself. He leaves the apartment and starts to walk across the streets. He remembers seeing a nice-looking coffee shop from the car window the day before when his dad dropped him off to his new apartment. Donghyuck wanders around until he finds it. Even from outside, the coffee shop emanates comfortable and homelike feeling. The door is open and Donghyuck steps in.

He scans the place quickly with his eyes. The lighting is rather dim and the main color of the decoration is brown, making the atmosphere warm and welcoming. There are few people sitting on the chairs and sofas around the coffee shop. Donghyuck walks closer to the counter and notices the boy standing behind it.

The boy looks slightly older than Donghyuck. He has blonde short hair, brown kind-looking eyes and high cheekbones. He’s clothed to black jeans and red t-shirt. Donghyuck would be lying if he said that the boy isn’t one of the prettiest people he has ever seen.

“Hello! What can I get to you?” the blonde boy greets and smiles at Donghyuck when Donghyuck finally reaches the counter.

“Hi!” Donghyuck greets back and smiles. Then he turns his gaze to look at the drink menu on the wall. “Hmm.. I would like to have a Mochaccino and then that kind of sandwich", Donghyuck tells and points at a sandwich that's filled with mozzarella and tomatoes. The boy nods and proceeds to make the drink. Then he takes the sandwich and puts it on a plate.

“That would be 7 euros 80 cents, thank you”, he says then. Donghyuck pays with a card and gets the receipt. Donghyuck scans the room again. He notices that there's actually couple of chairs at the side on the counter.

“Can I sit here?” Donghyuck asks after taking some steps to his left.

“Of course" the boy smiles. Donghyuck takes a seat at the side of the counter. This way he's still in close proximity with the boy on the other side of the counter. It would be really easy to strike up a real conversation...

“Are you new in this town? I haven't seen you before”, the boy asks suddenly.

“Yeah, I actually moved here yesterday. My name's Donghyuck", Donghyuck answers.

“I'm Mark. What made you move here?”

“I'll start studying here in the fall”

Mark nods. “So either you start high school or polytechnic. Those are the only schools we have here"

“Well, do I look like I’m about to start high school to you?”

“Well…”, Mark says and slowly scans his eyes over Donghyuck.

“Seriously?” Donghyuck exclaims, affronted.

Mark bursts out laughing. “I'm just messing with you. But you do look slightly younger than me. I'm guessing you’re eighteen or nineteen?”

“I'm nineteen. Just turned few days ago"

Mark nods. “I'm nineteen too, but I'm turning twenty in August”. Donghyuck nods.

“So, polytechnic. What are you going to study?” Mark asks then.

“Journalism", Donghyuck answers smiling. It's something he's always been interested in.

“That's pretty cool", Mark smiles.

“How about you? Do you work here full-time, or?” Donghyuck asks then.

“Yeah, I do. I'm actually a partial owner of this place. This is a family business and my parents made me a partial owner not too long ago”, Mark tells.

“That's great! Have you always wanted to go to this career path?”

“Yep. I've basically grown up here, I wouldn't even know how to dream of something else", Mark smiles. Donghyuck nods smiling.

“Since you're only starting your studies in the fall, what have you planned for the summer?” Mark asks then.

“Well, I have worked part-time while in my senior year of high school, so now I'm spending a well-deserved vacation. I actually made a Summer Bucket List for myself, that I'm going to complete during the summer”, Donghyuck tells.

“Oh, that sounds interesting and fun! What do you have on your list?”

“I'm not gonna tell you that!” Donghyuck exclaims.

“Rude", Mark pouts.

“I can't tell you, that would jinx the whole thing!”

Mark eyes him warily. “I'm not sure that's how bucket lists work, but okay. But at least tell me one! That can't jinx anything!”

“Well, okay, fine. The first one on the list is 'make a new friend'", Donghyuck tells.

“Well, I think you got that covered then", Mark smiles widely.

Donghyuck can't help it when his face breaks into a wide, bright smile. “Great! Well then,  _friend_ , can I get your number so that I can bother you anywhere, anytime, like friends do?”

Mark chuckles and hands his phone to Donghyuck. The younger sets his phone number into Mark's phone and then sends himself a text.

“There we go", Donghyuck says and hands the phone back to Mark. Then he finishes his coffee and sandwich, and jumps off from his chair.

“I'll better start going now, but I'll see you later. And don't you worry Mark, you will find out what's on my bucket list, when the time is right”, Donghyuck smiles.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You'll see later! Bye!” Donghyuck exclaims and then skips out of the coffee shop.

**1\. [X] Make a new friend**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck walks into the coffee shop and right to the counter. Mark's standing behind it. Donghyuck stares intently at the blonde hair of the older.

“I'm pretty sure you're not a natural blonde", Donghyuck then says after a long moment. Mark has been staring at him with guestioning eyes for the whole time.

“I'm amazed by your deduction skills. But why are you so interested in my hair all of a sudden?”

“Because I'm about to dye my hair and I want company. You're clearly not against dying your hair, so this works out perfectly. What time do you get off work?”

“In fifteen minutes. What kind of colors are we talking about?” Mark eyes Donghyuck suspiciously.

“Oh, you know, something summery", Donghyuck grins.

Fifteen minutes later they exit the coffee shop and head to the big supermarket on the other side of the city center. They walk inside and to the hair-dye section. It is filled with all kinds of colors and brands of hair-dye packets.

“I'm going with this one!” Donghyuck exclaims and skips to Mark with a packet of pink hair dye in his hand. Mark looks at Donghyuck's now brown hair.

“Then you're going to want this too”, he hands a packet of color removal to the younger. The pink color will look much better if Donghyuck bleaches his hair first.

“You're right, thank you!” Donghyuck smiles. “Now, how about you..” the younger muses then and turns back to the selection. He picks a packet of bright blue dye.

“How about this one for you?” Donghyuck asks enthusiastically.

“Absolutely not", Mark answers. Donghyuck pouts. Next the younger suggest green, then bright yellow and then violet. Mark turns them all down and settles with flaming red in the end. Donghyuck thinks it's not super interesting color, but it's okay enough.

They go to Donghyuck's and start the dying process. Mark dyes Donghyuck's hair and vice versa. After washing the colors away and drying their hair they stand in front of a mirror and stare at their new hair colors.

“Pink actually fits you really well", Mark says.

“Thanks. You don't look too shabby in your red hair either”, Donghyuck grins. Mark smiles.

**2\. [X] Dye your hair with a bold color**

  
\--------

  
“Hey, Mark? You wanna come over and watch a movie today?” Donghyuck asks the older who's fiddling with a coffee maker on the other side of the counter. Donghyuck sits on the same chair as always, it has become his personal chair in the coffee shop at this point. He sips on his caramel latte.

“Yeah, sure. What are we watching?”

“Something that can be found from Netflix and isn't completely boring", Donghyuck answers. Mark hums.

It takes another hour for Mark to get off work. But Donghyuck has no hurries in his life at the moment so he can just laze around in the coffee shop, waiting for Mark.

When they are about to leave, the sky suddenly cracks open and it starts pouring rain.

“Great", Mark says dryly. “I think there might be an umbrella somewhere in the back, let me go see"

“No, no umbrellas. See instead if you have some Minigrip bags”, Donghyuck says.

“Okay…”, Mark says and goes to the back room. After a while he comes back with Minigrip bags in his hand.

“Perfect!” Donghyuck exclaims delighted. He takes the bags from Mark and then even fishes Mark's phone out of the older's pocket, ignoring the surprised 'hey' that Mark lets out. Donghyuck puts Mark's phone and his own inside a Minigrip bag and then puts that bag inside another bag. Just to be sure. Then he puts them to his pocket.

“There we go, all set. Let's go!” Donghyuck exclaims and takes a hold of Mark's wrist, dragging the older out of the coffee shop and into the street. They stand in the pouring rain.

“So, standing in the rain?” Mark muses.

“No. Running in the rain", Donghyuck grins and then takes off running. Mark stands there surprised for a second before running after Donghyuck. The street is already flooding with water that splashes under their steps.

Mark listens to the melodious laughter of the younger, that can be heard even over the loud noise that the rain makes. Mark smiles to himself and runs faster to catch Donghyuck. They only stop running when they’re in front of Donghyuck's apartment building. They are both completely soaked.

“Come on, I'll lend you dry clothes", Donghyuck smiles and tugs Mark inside his apartment.

**3\. [X] Run in the pouring rain**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck presses the call button. It takes a few peeps for Mark to answer to his phone.

_“Morning, Hyuck. You’re early, what’s up?”_

“Good morning, Mark. Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

_“No, but I was just going to. How come?”_

“Stop right there! Don’t eat anything! I’ll be there in five!”, Donghyuck exclaims and then ends the call. He takes his wallet and puts some shoes on. Donghyuck exits his apartment building and heads towards Mark’s. It takes around five minutes to walk from Donghyuck’s place to Mark’s.

Surprisingly, Mark is already outside his apartment building, waiting for Donghyuck.

“You sounded like we’re about to go somewhere, so I just came down already”, Mark says when Donghyuck walks up to him.

“Smart thinking”, Donghyuck smiles. “You and I are going to go and have some breakfast”

“What’s the catch?”

“We are eating cake”

“Cake for breakfast?”

“Exactly. Do you want to go to your coffee shop or to someplace else?”

“Well, I spend enough time at my coffee shop, so let’s go someplace else”

“Great! Let’s go!”, Donghyuck exclaims and they start walking.

“Cake is really expensive in coffee shops, though”, Mark muses.

“Don’t worry, I’m feeling generous today, it’s my treat”

“Oh, well then this is an _excellent_ idea!” Mark grins widely and drags Donghyuck inside a café they come across.

Mark ends up ordering three pieces of cake, all different flavor. And he obviously refuses to share them with Donghyuck. So, not only Donghyuck has to pay the three pieces of cake Mark ordered, he also has to pay the ones he wants to eat himself. He orders two, one piece of chocolate cake and one of cheesecake. His wallet feels light afterwards.

But the cakes taste so amazing that it doesn’t bother him too much in the end.

Donghyuck eats his two pieces of cake. Mark also eats two of his three pieces. The last one he packs to go and tells Donghyuck that he’s going to eat it in the evening while watching television.

“You sneaky bastard”, Donghyuck hisses to him, but ends up laughing few seconds later. He would have done the same thing if it had been Mark who was paying.

**4\. [X] Eat cake for breakfast**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck knocks on Mark’s door. The older opens the door almost immediately.

“Hey, Hyuck. We didn’t have any plans today, did we?” Mark looks at Donghyuck little surprised.

“No, we didn’t, but we do now. You play the guitar, am I right?”

“Yes”

“Great. Do you know how to play any Michael Jackson’s songs?”

“Um, yeah, I know how to play Man in the mirror, I just can’t stop loving you and One more chance”

“Perfect! Grab your guitar, we are going to the park!” Donghyuck ushers Mark to get his guitar. The older obeys and they exit the apartment. They walk towards the park that’s located in the middle of the city center.

“I’m guessing you’re forcing me to play in the park”, Mark says.

“Obviously. You’re going to play those three Michael Jackson songs you can and I’m going to sing them”

“This is obviously one of your bucket list things. Busking?”

“Yep”, Donghyuck smiles. They reach the park and walk in the middle of it. It is a sunny, warm summer Saturday, so there’s quite a lot of people in the park. Mark and Donghyuck get immediately some curious glances when they walk there with a guitar.

“Okay, let’s start with Man in the mirror”, Donghyuck says. Mark nods and tunes his guitar quickly. There are few people who have started to float closer, since they can see that the boys are about to perform something.

Obviously Donghyuck starts to feel slightly self-conscious, but he doesn’t want to let himself get nervous now. Mark is done with his guitar and raises his eyebrows at the younger, to ask if he’s ready to start. Donghyuck nods.

Mark starts to play and soon Donghyuck starts to sing. The first few sentences come out slightly shaky, but then he relaxes and just enjoys the singing. More people start to gather around. Donghyuck lets his gaze wander around, not stopping to anyone in particular, so that he doesn’t register them staring at him.

But at some point, he stops his gaze at Mark. The older is looking at him.

Okay, Donghyuck knows he can sing and that he has a nice voice, but he isn’t sure he’s  _that_  good. That good, that he deserves the look Mark is giving him. The older’s eyes are full of wonder and admiration directed at Donghyuck. Donghyuck has to turn his eyes away from Mark, because he almost starts to feel shy.

They finish the first song and get round of applause. They perform the two other songs too, and even more people stop by to listen. Donghyuck feels pretty good. The people seem to enjoy their singing and playing. After the two songs, they get another round of applause and some people even praise Donghyuck for his beautiful singing voice. Donghyuck leaves the park with a smile on his face.

“You know what Donghyuck, just forget the journalism and become a singer instead!” Mark exclaims smiling and throws his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders.

Donghyuck laughs. “Maybe I should!”

**5\. [X] Do busking**

  
\--------

  
“Remind me again, Donghyuck. When did your bucket list also become my bucket list?” Mark asks.

“The very day we first met”, Donghyuck answers matter-of-factly. “You know, I still think you should get a nipple piercing”, the younger then continues.

Mark flushes completely red. “I am  _not_  getting a nipple piercing!”

Donghyuck pouts.

“You get a nipple piercing if you love those so much!” Mark exclaims, now annoyed.

“Maybe I will”, Donghyuck muses. For some reason, also that idea makes Mark flush all red again.

The piercer comes to fetch them to get their piercings done. Mark goes first and then it’s Donghyuck’s turn. Neither of them actually gets a nipple piercing, but instead they both take a piercing on their ears. Mark goes with a standard lobe piercing. Donghyuck goes with a slightly more interesting one; he gets a conch to his left ear.

They pay the piercings and exit the store.

“You know, since I’m apparently doing all these bucket list activities with you, you could just show me the list”, Mark says.

“No! It is much more fun for you, if you only find them out when we are about to do them!”

“Yes, because you obviously know what’s the most fun for me”, Mark says dryly.

“Exactly!” Donghyuck exclaims happily. Mark rolls his eyes.

**6\. [X] Get a piercing**

  
\--------

  
Mark and Donghyuck get on a bus. They sit themselves at the back of the bus and set to watch the views through the slightly dirty window. The bus ride takes around an hour. When they step out of the vehicle, they are met with the sight of a big amusement park.

They walk up to the gate and buy wristbands that allow them to use all the rides. They step to the amusement park area. It is filled with people and their talk and laughter, music, smell of popcorn, and the humming of the rides in motion. Mark and Donghyuck are both immediately filled with happy feeling. Who doesn’t love amusement parks?

“What do you want to start with?” Mark asks.

“I think I want to get my duty of the day out of the way right away. Hm, which one do you think is the worst ride here?”, Donghyuck says. Mark scans the area with his eyes.

“Well, it depends what kind of rides you don’t like. If you are afraid of speed, I would say one of the roller coasters...”

“Nah, I’m not afraid of roller coasters”, Donghyuck says. He too scans the area. His eyes stop on the Drop Tower. It’s probably something like 90 meters high. Doghyuck watches as the seats go slowly up, and then drop down with a free fall. Yikes.

“Okay, that's the one! Let’s go!”, Donghyuck exclaims and grabs a hold of Mark’s arm. He drags the older to the line. He needs to do this quickly so that he doesn’t have the time to change his mind. Soon enough they show their wristbands and go to take seats. The safety barriers go down and the ride starts to move. They are slowly going up.

They are probably half-way up, when Donghyuck opens his mouth: “You know what Mark, this might have been a bad idea”. He looks down to the ground that moves further away every second. Soon the seats will be at the top and then there will be a free fall. And Donghyuck isn’t very sure he wants to experience a free fall after all.

“You know what Donghyuck, it is pretty useless to realize it at this point”, Mark remarks. Damn it, he’s right. Donghyuck isn’t exactly getting anywhere from his seat now. They reach the top. The previously cheerful music that was playing, turns into an ominous one and then stops altogether.

And then they are falling. Donghyuck lets out a  _very_  unmanly scream. It feels like his guts have disappeared completely and there’s only a big hole there. Not the nicest feeling in Donghyuck’s opinion.

Luckily the fall doesn’t take longer than few seconds and then they’re safely back on the ground. The safety barriers open and people start to jump off their seats. Mark who’s been sitting next to Donghyuck jump effortlessly out of his seat. Donghyuck on the other hand feels like his legs are made out of Jell-O all of a sudden. He scrambles out of his seat and then to the nearest bench he finds.

“Oh my God, that was amazing!” Mark exclaims happily and joins Donghyuck on the bench.

“I beg to disagree”, Donghyuck says and tries to calm his still quickly beating heart.

“Let’s go again!” Mark says, eyes twinkling with excitement.

“ _Hell no_!” Donghyuck shouts. Mark flinches at the strong objection and looks at Donghyuck with wide eyes.

“Sorry”, the younger says sheepishly. “That was honestly horrible. But you should go again if you want. I’ll wait here”

“You don’t mind?” Mark confirms. Donghyuck shakes his head and smiles.

“Thanks, you’re the best!” Mark exclaims and runs to the line again. The older ends up going to the Drop Tower four times in a row, while Donghyuck waits and watches the ride go up and fall down again.

After that they move to visit the other rides in the park, get something to eat and just enjoy the nice atmosphere of the amusement park. In the evening they take the bus back to their city. It is a pretty fun day.

 **7\. [X] Take a day trip outside the city**  
**8\. [X] Go to a terrifying amusement park ride**

  
\--------

  
“Mark, over here!” Donghyuck shouts and waves his hand to get the older’s attention. He’s sitting on a bench in the park where they did the busking couple weeks ago. Mark is now walking towards him.

“Hey Hyuck”, Mark sits next to him on the bench. “What are we up to today?”

“This”, Donghyuck says and hands a small bottle to Mark. Mark looks at the bottle curiously and then carefully opens the cork. That’s when he realizes it’s a soap bubble bottle. The older’s face breaks into a smile.

“Oh, I don’t even remember the last time I blew soap bubbles!”

“Same here. That’s why I put it in my bucket list. You’re never too old to blow soap bubbles!” Donghyuck smiles and opens his bottle. Then he blows the first bubbles. Mark follows suit.

They spend the afternoon in the park, blowing bubbles and talking about anything and everything.

**9\. [X] Blow soap bubbles**

  
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“Two glasses of this wine, please”, Donghyuck orders from the counter of a wine bar. He gets the glasses and then he walks out of the bar and to the terrace outside of it. Mark’s already sitting at a table there. The younger sets the glass of wine in front of Mark.

“Thanks”, Mark says, while Donghyuck takes a seat across him. It is a Friday afternoon and there are lots of adults sitting on the terrace, while drinking fancy drinks that the place provides.

“So, last time we were blowing soap bubbles and this time we are drinking expensive wine”, Mark muses.

“Yep. Last time we were pretending to be kids and this time we are pretending to be adults. This kind of thing, sitting on a terrace while drinking a fancy alcohol, seems to be what adults enjoy doing”

“If we are pretending to be kids and pretending to be adults, what is it that we actually are then?”

“Hm, legally adults, but in reality something between teenagers and young adults”

“And here I have been thinking that I’m an actual adult”

“Sorry to break your bubble”, Donghyuck says, really not sorry at all. Then he takes the first sip of his wine. He can’t help it, when the acid drink hits his tongue, his face involuntary wrinkles in distaste. Mark looks at him amusement in his eyes. Donghyuck quickly neutralizes his expression.

“It’s very good”, the younger says and acts like he didn’t just flinch at the taste. Mark hums and takes a sip of the drink. Donghyuck observes his face. Mark smiles slightly.

“It’s not bad actually”, the older says.

Of course Mark likes it, Donghyuck thinks sourly. Then he takes another sip of his drink and tries not to make funny faces. It tastes absolutely horrible.

“So, adult-only-today-Donghyuck, should we talk about politics?” Mark asks in polite manner and takes another sip of his wine.

Donghyuck squints his eyes at Mark. “Are you making fun of me?”

“I would never”, Mark says and tries to hide his grin behind his glass. Donghyuck grunts at him and tries to drink his wine again. Seriously, how do people find that poison enjoyable?

Mark watches as the younger keeps taking the smallest sips of his wine and always flinching at the taste. After five times the older thinks it’s enough.

“You know what, this is ridiculous. You obviously hate that stuff”, Mark says and takes the glass from Donghyuck. Then he proceeds to pour the wine from the glass to the flowerpot next to their table.

“Hey, I was drinking that!”

“No, you weren’t. Now, come on”, Mark hauls the younger up from his seat. Then he drags Donghyuck across the street and sits him down to a chair on another terrace. Mark goes inside the shop and Donghyuck looks around. His sitting on a terrace that belongs to an ice cream parlor.

It takes probably ten minutes for Mark to come back. When he does, he sets a milkshake in front of Donghyuck. It is a milkshake from anyone’s dreams. The milkshake changes color in the middle of the glass, it is decorated with generous amount of whipped cream and sprinkles in all colors, and it is served in a beautiful, long glass. Donghyuck can feel his own eyes twinkling in delightment at the sight.

Mark takes a seat in front of Donghyuck. He has the same kind of milkshake to himself. The older takes a sip through his straw.

“Now, if you are done with playing a wine-loving adult, you can drink the milkshake of your dreams”, Mark smiles.

Donghyuck takes a sip from his milkshake and this time his face breaks into a content smile. “Yeah, I'm not gonna even pretend. This tastes three gazillion times better than that horrible poison”

Mark laughs and shakes his head a little.

**10\. [X] Drink a glass of fancy ~~wine~~  milkshake while sitting on a terrace**

  
\--------

  
“I have a feeling that I’m not gonna like this”, Mark says. “It is 11pm and dark, we are walking on the outskirts of the city in a shady area and your bag is clattering”

“Oh, Mark, have a little faith in me”

“It is pretty hard right now”

They walk a little while longer and then Donghyuck leads them to an underpass.

“This is a perfect spot!” the younger says enthusiastically. He takes his backpack off his back and opens it. Then he takes a can of spray paint out.

Mark throws his hands frustratedly in the air. “You got to be kidding me! Graffiti? You do know that it is illegal?”

“I’ve always wanted to try doing graffiti. And besides this is like the least horrible crime you can do”

“And that makes it okay?”

“Well, okay-ish...”, Donghyuck grins innocently.

“That’s probably what murderers tell themselves too; ‘it’s okay-ish..'”

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a goody two-shoes", Donghyuck whines. Mark looks at him unamused.

“What are you even gonna draw or write?” the older then asks.

“Hm, I was thinking about something like ‘Mark Lee was here’”, Donghyuck tells.

“Don’t you dare”

Donghyuck cackles and then sprays little paint to the stone wall. He doesn’t actually write Mark’s name or anything sensible at all. It’s his first time trying out doing graffiti, so he ends up just drawing all kinds of random symbols.

“You sure you don’t want to try?” he then asks Mark.

“I’m good, thanks”

“I know you actually want to~”, Donghyuck uses his persuasive voice and his sweet smile. He wiggles the spray paint can in front of Mark’s face. The older’s stern face wavers a little. Donghyuck flutters his eyelashes.

“You are turning me into a criminal”, Mark sighs and takes the can from Donghyuck. Donghyuck grins triumphantly.

“I like my men daring”, the younger jokes. Mark looks at Donghyuck and blinks a few times. Donghyuck swears he sees a pink hue on the older’s cheeks. Then Mark turns quickly to the stone wall and sprays some paint on it. Suddenly the older’s demeanor switches to determined. He starts to spray properly. Donghyuck doesn’t immediately pay attention to what Mark is drawing but when he does, it is too late.

There, on the stone wall, is a big, bold lettering done with a red paint:  **LEE DONGHYUCK WAS HERE!**

Donghyuck’s jaw drops. Mark turns to grin at him: “Daring, huh?”. The older quickly picks up Donghyuck’s bag, where all the other spray cans are, from the ground and then he breaks into a run. Effectively stopping Donghyuck from covering the writing since he took all the spray paints with him.

“Mark Lee, I’ll kill you!!” Donghyuck screams and runs after the older.

**11\. [X] Do graffiti**

  
\--------

  
“How long left?” Mark asks with a whiny voice. Donghyuck checks the time.

“Two hours”

“I’m tired”, Mark whines some more.

“I know, you have said it like a hundred times”

“I want to sleep~"

“Stop whining. You should be able to stay awake without a problem. You are young and in shape of your life!”

“Well, forgive me if my amazing shape has a full week of work behind it. Unlike some people who have only lazed around all week”

“Hey, I have done lots of things!”

“Like what? Walked from your room to the fridge and back?”

“Don’t be mean. In case you have forgotten, I’ve visited you in the coffee shop every day”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I’m just tired and cranky”, Mark sighs. “Let’s just continue this card game”

They play cards for the next two hours and then Donghyuck’s alarm peeps. It is 8am.

“Hallelujah, finally! Time to sleep!” Mark jumps up from his seat and runs to Donghyuck’s bedroom. Donghyuck gets up, but then he realizes that he only has a single bed in is room. How did he forget that? Maybe he should go to sleep in Taeyong’s room? Well, half of the fun when it comes to sleepovers is to sleep in the same room with your friend though. Donghyuck obviously wouldn’t mind sharing his bed with Mark, but Mark might not be comfortable. Maybe he should fetch Taeyongs’s mattress to his room...

“What are you dawdling there? Come on!” Mark’s impatient voice calls out from the room. Donghyuck walks there, slightly dazed. Mark is laying on Donghyuck’s bed, having left an obvious space for the younger to fit in. Donghyuck walks up to the bed and carefully lays down on it, his back facing Mark.

Mark throws his arm around Donghyuck’s waist and pulls the younger closer. Donghyuck’s back is pressing against Mark’s chest, the older’s arm is staying around his waist.

“Good night. Or morning, or something”, Mark’s already sleepy voice mumbles.

“Remember, no waking up before 6pm”, Donghyuck reminds.

“Won’t be a problem”

“Sleep tight”, Donghyucks says. Mark hums.

Donghyuck closes his eyes and smiles in contentment. Mark’s arm is securely wrapped around his waist and his body is warm against the younger.

Donghyuck could really get used to this.

**12\. [X] Stay up all night and then sleep the whole day**

  
\--------

  
“ _Donghyuck, it is 4 in the fucking morning. What do you want?_ ”, Mark’s sleepy but annoyed voice answers the phone.

“Good morning, Mark! It is time to get up!” Donghyuck greets Mark with a perky voice.

“ _A week ago you wouldn’t let me go to sleep at this hour and now you are forcing me to get up. You’re a sadist, you know that right?_ ”

“Sure, sure. I’ll be there in ten minutes, so start moving!” Donghyuck says and ends the call. He takes his sweet time walking to Mark’s apartment, just to give the older some time to get up and get dressed. When Donghyuck reaches Mark’s apartment the older is again already waiting outside. Donghyuck’s face breaks into a smile. Mark tries to stay annoyed, but he can’t help it when he starts to smile after seeing the happy expression of the younger.

“Where are we going?” Mark asks.

“To the beach”

They walk towards the beach. It is still almost completely dark outside. Donghyuck has a good reason for them to be awake at this hour. They are going to the beach to watch the sunrise.

Donghyuck sits down to the sand and Mark sits next to him. They are only ones on the beach. It is very quiet; the only sound comes from the waves hitting the shore. There’s a slight cool breeze that passes them. The first rays of sunlight start to flicker from the horizon where the ocean turns to sky.

It is nice. So peaceful. They sit silently and watch as the sun slowly rises, casting its golden beams over the beach and the city.

At some point Donghyuck turns his gaze to look at Mark. The light breeze sways the now faded red hair of the older and the sunlight makes his features glow a little. Donghyuck smiles. He’s so happy that he met Mark. The older makes him always so happy.

Mark senses the younger’s gaze and turns to look at him. Maybe Donghyuck should turn his gaze away but he doesn’t want to. He keeps the eye contact with Mark and leans slowly closer. Mark doesn’t pull away. Their eyes flutter close as their lips meet to a careful kiss.

They break apart for a moment, but then lean in again and this time kiss more surely. But suddenly Mark breaks the kiss in a haste.

“Donghyuck, please don’t tell me you’re doing this because it says something like ‘kiss someone’ on your bucket list”

“Okay, I’m not gonna lie to you, it says ‘kiss someone’ on my list-”, Mark shoves Donghyuck away from him. “BUT! I’m not doing this because it says so on my list. Right now I couldn’t care less about that list”, Donghyuck says and raises from the ground where Mark pushed him. He moves to sit right in front of the older.

“This-”, Donghyuck gives a kiss on Mark’s right cheek, “Is all-”, Donghyuck gives a kiss on Mark’s left cheek, “Because I really, really like you”, and then he kisses Mark’s lips again.

Mark’s face melts to a smile. “Good. Because I really, really like you too. Be my boyfriend, Donghyuck?”

“I would love nothing more”

 **13\. [X] Watch the sunrise**  
**14\. [X] Kiss someone (preferably someone you like)**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck ties the hammock between two sturdy trees. He and Mark are again in the park, this time just at the edge of it where there are more trees. The hammock Donghyuck has bought is striped and bright colored and it can fit two people easily in it. Donghyuck gets on the hammock and then waves Mark to join him.

“You sure it will bear two people?”

“Yes! Now come on, I want cuddles!”

Mark struggles himself to the hammock and then they wiggle around to get comfortable. The older wraps his arms around Donghyuck and Donghyuck rests his head on Mark’s chest.

The leaves of the trees around shelter them from the hot sunshine. The hammock sways slightly forth and back. Mark combs his fingers softly through Donghyuck’s hair.

Sometimes happiness can be found in the simplest things.

**15\. [X] Lay in a hammock**

\--------

  
“No, absolutely no!”, Mark says.

“Mark, come on~", Donghyuck whines.

“No! I got a piercing and even committed a crime with you, but this, this is where I draw the line!”

“Maaaark~"

“No! I am not watching Titanic with you! It is too sad and too horrible movie!”

“And that is exactly why you need to watch it with me! You can’t put me to watch it all alone!”

“I sure can!”

“No, you can’t. You are my boyfriend, you have responsibilities!”

“Well, watching Titanic with my boyfriend isn’t one of them!”

“Yes, it is! And a very important one!”

Mark gives Donghyuck a very unamused look. Donghyuck gives his best puppy eyes back. It doesn’t take long for Mark to crack.

“Ugh, fine!” he says frustratedly.

“Yay!” Donghyuck exclaims and runs to get his laptop. He connects it to the television so that they can watch the movie from a bigger screen.

“I am going to cry like, half of the movie, and you better not make fun of me for it”, Mark says and flops down to the sofa. Donghyuck flops down next to him.

“I won’t, I promise. I will most likely cry too”

And cry they do. The movie is all nice and romantic at first. But then the ship hits the iceberg, and everything turns horrible. Mark and Donghyuck both keep on sobbing.

At some point Donghyuck wants to wipe his face drier but he realizes he doesn't have any tissues or other paper close. So he takes the next best thing, that's closest to him. And that is the sleeve of Mark's shirt. Why is the older even wearing a long-sleeved shirt in the middle of the summer?

Donghyuck takes a hold of Mark's sleeve and lifts it to dry his eyes on it. “What are you-", Mark starts and then Donghyuck continues to wipe his runny nose on the sleeve. “Ewww", Mark's face turns to disgusted. Then Donghyuck lets go of the sleeve and turns back to the movie.

“You know what? I am going to go and change my shirt and you are going to go and get some tissues", Mark says and gets up. He pauses the movie and goes to change his shirt. Donghyuck gets the tissues. Then they settle themselves back and watch the rest of the film.

When the movie ends, Donghyuck jumps to his feet and points at the screen.

“And that, that right there is the reason why I don't go falling in love with girls! They just let you drown in a freezing sea even if there's plenty of room on a raft!” he exclaims. “You would never do that to me, would you?”

“After that snot-stunt you pulled at my sleeve earlier, I just might”

Donghyuck bursts out crying again.

“Hey, baby, I was just kidding. Of course I wouldn't do that to you”, Mark goes to hug the younger.

Donghyuck sniffles. “I know, I know, I'm just a bit emotional after all that"

“I told you it's a bad idea to watch Titanic"

“No, it isn't. It was a good movie"

“It really wasn't”

“Oh shut up"

**16\. [X] Finally watch Titanic**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck is laying on his bed. He’s been at it the whole day. Donghyuck only woke up around noon and after that he hasn’t bothered to change out if his pajamas. It is nearing 5pm now.

Suddenly there’s a knock on his front door. Donghyuck gets up and walks to the door. He opens it and is met with the sight of Mark.

“Hey, Hyuck”, Mark smiles and takes a look at his boyfriend’s clothes. “Go get dressed, I am taking you out”

“Oh, okay!” Donghyuck smiles and skips to his room. A surprise date, what would be better? Donghyuck puts on an orange t-shirt, dark blue denim jeans and orange Converse to match the shirt. He quickly adds some eyeliner to his eyes and then he’s good to go. He walks back to the hallway where Mark is waiting.

“You look nice”, Mark says and pecks Donghyuck’s lips.

“Thanks. You too”, Donghyuck smiles. Actually Mark looks _really_ nice. The older is wearing white Converse, light washed jeans and a white t-shirt. He has his hair swept off his forehead and he’s wearing some bracelets on his right wrist.

“Shall we go?”, Mark asks and Donghyuck hums. They exit the apartment and start walking. Donghyuck realizes soon that they are walking towards the beach.

On the beach, there is this big and wide oceanside pier. Usually it is empty, save the occasional people that go enjoy their time in there, but now Donghyuck can see that the pier is full of people and action. There are all kinds of stalls, games, twinkling lights and even a merry-go-round. There’s joyful music playing, and people are wandering from stall to stall.

“It is the city’s annual funfair on the pier”, Mark tells him. They walk up to where the pier starts. The stalls are decorated with lights in all colors and the games are flickering with neon lights. It looks really beautiful against the now dark sky. Donghyuck smiles. Mark brought him to a pretty good spot to have a date.

They walk slowly, hand in hand through the pier. They stop at almost every stall to see what they are offering. There are all kinds of arts and crafts, foods, jewelry, toys, clothes and so on. Mark buys them some street food from one of the stalls and they sit down on a bench to eat them. After that they play the overprized games. Mark wins Donghyuck a plushie. Such a cliché, but so nice. Donghyuck loves the plushie.

There are even some street performers performing on the pier. Mark and Donghyuck watch as a man stunts with fire and then also swallows it. Then they move to watch a woman with a huge snake around her. She offers them a possibility to hold the snake, but the boys decide against it.

When they have walked through the whole pier and come back to where it starts, Donghyuck thinks it’s time to go home. But Mark has other plans. He pulls the younger with him to the beach, to sit on the sand, close to the waterfront.

“The best part of the evening is yet to happen”, Mark tells him. Donghyuck looks at him questioningly. Then there’s a loud bang. Donghyuck startles a little, but then he realizes where it came from. The sky is suddenly illuminated by big fireworks.

“No way!” Donghyuck exclaims.

“What?” Mark raises his eyebrows at Donghyuck.

“Nothing”, Donghyuck smiles and shakes his head a little. “This has just been a pretty perfect date”

Mark smiles widely and leans to give a kiss on Donghyuck’s lips. Donghyuck raises his hand on Mark’s nape and deepens the kiss a little.

They break apart and turn back to the fireworks. Donghyuck leans his head on Mark’s shoulder as they watch the beautiful and colorful explosives light up the dark.

**17\. [X] Watch fireworks**

  
\--------

  
“What are you writing on it?” Mark asks and tries to sneak a peek over Donghyuck’s shoulder. But the younger pushes his face away.

“You’re seriously not going to let me see it?” Mark complains.

“I seriously am not going to let you see it”, Donghyuck tells him and ushers Mark to move further away from him. The older sighs and obeys. He sits down to the ground, far enough away from Donghyuck.

They are currently sitting on a cliff, little outside the city. From the cliff, there’s a long fall to the ocean. And also pretty good views. The ocean opens wide in front of their eyes, continuing endless to the horizon. There are some birds flying over the ocean, in the blue sky. The sun is shining and there aren’t any clouds in sight.

Donghyuck turns back to his letter.

  
_10.8.2019_  
_Hello to you, whoever is reading this!_  
_Hm, what do people nowadays write on these things?_  
_Maybe something about me? Well, I moved to a completely new city a little while ago, far away from my family. It was and is amazing, but also slightly scary. Luckily I met someone here. He’s pretty great. Really great actually. He always goes along with my shenanigans and is always there for me. He makes me really happy._  
_I hope that you are happy too. I hope you’re doing what you think is important in life. ‘Cause life’s too short to be doing things that make us unhappy, you know._  
_So let’s smile and be brave! <3_  
_-DH_

  
Donghyuck rolls the letter and puts it inside a bottle. He closes the bottle and then walks up to the edge of the cliff. He throws the bottle down from the cliff and into the water. The current immediately grasps the bottle and starts to carry it.

Donghyuck knows this is pretty good spot to throw the bottle into the ocean. The current will take it away from their city. The bottle will be pretty quickly washed on the beach of one of the nearby cities, so it won’t stay litter the ocean for too long. Someone will soon be able to read his letter. Hopefully it makes that person’s day. After all, it isn’t every day that you find a message in a bottle.

Donghyuck turns on his heels and walks up to Mark. The older gets up from the ground. Donghyuck takes his hand and they head down the hill.

**18\. [X] Send a message in a bottle**

  
\--------

  
“Mark!” Donghyuck bursts through the door of the coffee shop, effectively startling everyone inside.

“Donghyuck”, Mark answers in calm manner.

“Mark, today will be a full moon! Do you know what that means?”

“You reveal your true nature and turn into a werewolf?”

“Ha, ha, very funny”, Donghyuck says dryly. “No. It means that it’s time for the second-to-last bucket list activity! Be ready at 11pm today! And find your swimming shorts!”

“...okay”, Mark knows it’s useless to try to get more information.

“Great! I’ll see you tonight!” Donghyuck exclaims, turns and takes some steps towards the door. But then he turns back and walks up to Mark

“Almost forgot”, Donghyuck says and gives Mark kiss on the lips. The older smiles. Then Donghyuck finally really leaves the coffee shop.

At 11pm Donghyuck fetches Mark from his apartment. They walk to the beach yet again. It is dark outside, but the full moon and the stars are illuminating their way. The weather is maybe slightly chilly for swimming, but Donghyuck isn’t going to let it stop them. And Mark obviously doesn’t have a say in this.

They arrive to the beach and walk close to the water. Donghyuck drops his bag on the ground and then proceeds to take his shoes and shirt off. He’s already wearing his swimming shorts.

“So, we are really swimming?” Mark asks.

“Yep”, Donghyuck answers and waves his hand to motion Mark to take his shirt and shoes off. When they are both wearing only their swimming shorts, Donghyuck says:

“I’ll race you to the water!”

Mark doesn’t even answer but instead just breaks into a run, leaving the younger behind.

“Hey!” Donghyuck ecxlaims and run after him. They run to the water and hit against the waves. The water isn’t cold but it isn’t warm either. It’s just the kind that you will need a little time to get used to it. Donghyuck laughs when the wave hits Mark and the older loses his balance and gets dragged with the wave for a second. When Mark gets up he splashes some water on Donghyuck. Donghyuck retaliates and they have a short splashing war.

After that they settle to actually swim a little. It’s pretty fun to swim against the waves and then let them to push you around for a moment for change. They are obviously the only ones on the water and on the beach.

Just the two of them, in the restless water, under the full moon and the twinkling stars.

“You know, Donghyuck, this is pretty romantic if you think about it”, Mark says while floating on the water. Donghyuck's first instinct is to obviously remark about Mark being sappy, but for once he drops his pride.

“Yeah, it is” the younger says. He swims right next to the older and Mark fixes his position so that they’re now facing each other. Mark lifts his hand on Donghyuck’s nape and pulls the younger into a kiss. Donghyuck can taste the saltiness of the seawater mixed with something sweet on Mark’s lips. The younger lifts his hands on Mark’s waist, drawing the lightest circles with his fingers and causing the older to shiver slightly of pleasure.

Donghyuck smiles to the kiss.

**19\. [X] Moonlight swimming**

  
\--------

  
Mark and Donghyuck are standing in front of a big tree in the park. They are sheltered by the other trees around them. Donghyuck has a pocketknife in his hand. He takes a step forward and sets the knife against the tree.

“Last time you were being sappy, this time it’s my turn”, Donghyuck says to Mark and then starts to carve something into the tree. Mark watches curiously. It takes a while, but then Donghyuck is ready and he takes a step back.

There, carved on the surface of the tree, is a  _heart_  with  _D + M_  inside of it.

Mark wraps his arm around Donghyuck’s waist and gives a kiss on the younger’s temple. “It’s perfect”

Donghyuck is quiet for a moment, before saying:

“You know, if we ever break up, I’m going to have to come and burn this tree”

Mark blinks a few times. “It’s hardly this tree’s fault if we break up”

“Shush. If you don’t want the tree to burn, be a good boyfriend to me forever”

Mark smiles. “I will. And not just because I don’t want you to burn this tree”

Donghyuck smiles. He will try to be the best possible boyfriend to Mark too.

**20\. [X] Carve something into a tree**

  
\--------

  
Donghyuck looks at the paper where his Summer Bucket List is written on. It is the last day of his summer vacation and he has done all 20 activities on his list. Donghyuck feels really happy. It has been the best summer of his life.

He turns the paper around. There’s actually one additional thing written in there. It is something that Donghyuck didn’t want to write on the official bucket list.

Because it isn’t something you can just make happen. It is something that happens if it happens, or then it doesn’t happen.

Donghyuck wrote it on the other side of the list kind of on a whim. He definitely didn’t think it would happen. But somehow it did.

He draws the  **X** on the empty box.

Then Donghyuck takes the list and puts it in his drawer. He walks to the hallway, puts shoes on and steps out of his apartment. He runs down the stairs and through the front door onto the street.

Mark is there waiting for him.

Donghyuck walks up to him, kisses him on the lips and asks:

“What are we up to today?”

**+1. [X] Fall in love**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! <3


End file.
